Powerful Subs, good for SPL but not for accuracy
Written: Feb 12 '02
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Pros: Good response, excellent power handling and flexibility in setup (DVC)
Cons: Not very accurate, one 12" still won't match two 10"s for SPL
The Bottom Line: Good bang for your buck, but accuracy comes in a package not too much more expensive (Boston Pro). Carefully consider your needs before buying or you'll be dissapointed.
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| nick1326's Full Review: Jl Audio 12W6 Car Subwoofer |
JL's have always been touted as some of the best, most powerful subs available. Ironically however, I never see too many people criticizing their lack of accuracy. Anyone with halfway decent ears will be able to tell that while these subs are certainly loud, they're not always clear. nevertheless, they are very adaptable, the dual voice coils are very useful in increasing the flexibility in your setup - plus the 6ohm resistance makes it ideal for use with a bridged-and-parralelled scenario - more on this later.
As a musician, I may sound more critical than most people in rating audio-related items..however these are my honest and straight forward opinions of these products - As consumers and possible buyers of these products, I would hope this is what you are looking for in reviews; Not any inflated overly-dramatized reviews of an inferior product. The 12W6's certainly are not inferior and are above the average - however at this price the sub should be alot more accurate, and I'll cite some listening examples that will help you while shopping, and you'll be able to hear the innacuracy. I actually used a single 12W6 before I switched over to a real sub: The Boston Acoustic Pro 12. The JL did a great job - it was priced less than the Boston, however I knew from the get go that it was innacurate. The reason I bought it was simply because the Boston required 2.5 feet per sub - the JL called for 1- 1.5. Another review cited that JL recomends 1 - 1.75 and critiqued the sub for requiring too much space - I'd like to DISPELL THIS as it is not true. The JL is actually one of the lesser demanding subs, especially for a 12" driver. Speak to the engineers and tech guys at JL - the sub offers peak transient and dynamic response in a 1.25 cubic foot enclosure - the trick it to make ESPECIALLY sure that the box IS NOT SQUARE and try to design the enclosure such that none of the dimensions (L, W or H) are multiples of each other. 1.25 cubic feet it not a hell of a lot in your trunk, and although 1 12 won't provide the SPL of 2 10's, the 12 will sound much deeper and offer better transients and be an overall better addition to your system. If you can fit 2 12's, the bass will pound - but with 1 12 it will still be plenty, and if you're short on room, 1 12 beats 2 10's any day! Furthermore, the fact that the 12 will have better depth and extension is just icing on the cake at that point. The point however, is that using 1.25 feet will still allow for plenty of flexibility in where you put the sub - again, this is why I used the JL until Boston finally came out with a new Pro that would only take about a foot!
The best design I came up with for my Camry was shaped with a perpendicular wall for the sub (facing BACK not forward) and the wall of the box was angled so that it would fit flush against the back of the rear seat. Facing the sub BACK yields much better results: The response is tremendous - much better than facing the sub toward the front of the car, especially if it is very close to the rear seat. I used a sealed enclosure (you get maximum accuracy out of a sealed enclosure but less boom, you get optimal BOOM out of a bandpass enclosure, but the least accuracy, finally a ported enclosure is a balance of both) I usually lean towards a sealed enclosure no matter what - with more wattage you can create much boom - the JL's can handle plenty of power (I'll go over my amp setup later). Despite running the 12W6 in a sealed box for maximum accuracy, the sub still showed a weak performance - Listening to U2's Joshua Tree is a tell tale sign: PLay "with or without you" and listen to the bass - with the JL it will actually sound out of tune. Go listen to the same track with a Boston sub- it is right on. Again, despite the ability to create huge SPL, the JL has NEVER been an accurate sub...It's unfortunate that manufacturers buy their popularity through IASCA - this especially sucks for consumers, because you digest all the BS they feed you in the car audio magazines - but IASCA owns the magazines, so it is a vicious cycle. Companies like Boston and a/d/s/ won't buy into the IASCA garbage- therefore they do not get equal representation in the sound offs. Go find a competitor using Bostons and listen to the sound quality - THEN make a decision. I'm not knocking the JL - is SPL and BOOM are all you need, the 12W6 is great- especially for your amp (read further)...But it is no where near accurate.
Amp flexibility is where the 12W6 really shines. As a DVC dual voice coil sub, the user has the option of running the voice coils in parralel in order to make the amp see 1/2 the usual load - therefore 3 ohms. This is nice because most amps cannot handle a 1 or 2 ohm MONO load - and when you bridge, you put your amp into MONO. I use a Stillwater ZR240, and this amp cranks when it's bridged with a half-load. At three ohms in mono, the amp is pushing about 255 watts to the sub (the amps vary, so consult the birth-certificate that comes with the ap before buying ANY good amplifier!) 255 watts split between voice coils is plenty, and the sub pounds! Luckily, the stillwater amp can handle a 1 ohm mono load, which is great. However for those of you whos amps can't do a 2ohm mono load, 3ohms in mono is still ok, and the amp will just run a little hot...IF you were to take a 12W4 and try this, the 2 ohm mono load would send your amp into meltdown - you wouldn't believe the heat! The 12W6 is ideal for situations where you need to bridge into mono to squeeze the watts out, but still keep a 3 ohm load, instead of 2 ohm, so it helps keep it cooler.
If you do decide that JL is right for you, one piece of advice that I'll insist will make a huge difference is investing in a capacitor. Even a half farad will help, but a 3/4 or 1 farad cap. will make each bass hit dynamic and huge. For a 12 inch DVC sub that won't break the bank, the JL is a decent deal, and it is well above the average in this class and price range- however due to the typical JL lack of accuracy, I can't call this a real "high-end" sub and therefore will only recomend it depending on your intentions: 1) If you intend to throw one of these into a carefully designed audiophile grade system in the hopes of accurately recreating a sonic performance, this is not your sub - FORGET what the dealer tells you. Audiophile grade is reserved for velodyne and Boston, a/d/s/. Those names are the real "high-end" and will take your system and staging to the next level- accurate bass is more omni-directional than sloppy bass, and therefore it will enhance your soun stage - the JL WILL NOT do this. However, the JL will pound some serious DB's into your ride, so if you want a good loud sub to pound you and your friends ear drums for cruising, the JL is a great choice - I paid only 145.00 for the one sub. Decent street price is about 180, so these aren't too expensive and will do the job nicely. Additionally, they are fairly efficient so you don't need to power them with monster power to get the boom - 100 watts per coil will easily shake your mirrors, but they can handle a ton of power (if it is GOOD power) so don't be shy - the 12W6 will handle quite alot.
Like any good speaker, PLEASE go to your local dealer (or better, a FEW local dealers) and check out what is out there and be open - don't buy JL just because every other sound off car uses them - it doesn't mean they 're great! Go listen to everything and decide if the 12W6 fits your needs and will provide you and your system with what you are looking for. OVerall the 12W6 is better than most of its competition, so it is not a terrible sub- it's just not quite accurate.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 145
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nick1326
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Location: Long Island, NY
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